Dublin, Ireland

Find out why this city is the top weekend destination in Europe.

Dublin is the perfect visitor's city: large enough to provide all the visual and cultural interest one expects from a major city, yet small enough not to overwhelm you. It's saturated with history and architecture four times older than ours, yet at the same time it's a contemporary and vibrant place.

Divided north and south by the River Liffey, Ireland's capital is among the world's most walkable cities. Nearly every sight you'll want to see will take no more than a 10-minute walk from wherever you are.

North of the Liffey is dominated by the dazzling Customs House and part-stately, part-seedy O'Connell Street. South of the river you'll find the majority of top hotels and visitor sites, including Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals, and the splendid National Art Gallery.

Factor in 1,000 pubs (that's 1 for every 450 residents), and it's little wonder that the world's Celtic epicenter has become the top weekend destination in all of Europe.

Both times I've visited Dublin, I've stayed in the close-in suburbs – in a sparkling bed-and-breakfast and a small hotel – and taken the 10-minute bus ride to city center. This is a more relaxed way to experience Dublin, with no parking hassles and no racket when the pubs close.

But exactly where to stay? I'd bunk down near Phoenix Park in any of the following lodgings. They all feature the first priority of Americans abroad: private baths. Most room rates include a full Irish breakfast.

Elegant and amiable, the Ashling Hotel (www.ashlinghotel.ie) sits in an Old Dublin world of cobblestone walkways, street lamps, and pubs. It's a minute's jog from both Phoenix Park and the main Guinness Brewery.

Or try any of these three tidy B&Bs:The Kingsbridge is perfect for relaxing and reading, with cozy rooms, a sunny patio, and a garden out back. The Phoenix Park House provides a rarity in Ireland – vegetarian breakfast options – as well as homey, comfy rooms in clean and neat surroundings. And the Nacy Hands Pub is right around the corner, should you feel the need for antioxidants. Also on the park's edge, with a bus stop at the door, is the five-room Park View House.

The Fairest Run in All of DublinEasy call: Phoenix Park. It's known for its size (Europe's largest city park at 1,760 acres), variety of terrain (broad grasslands, avenues of trees, paved roads, dirt trails, lakes, and vast flower gardens), animals (cows graze and deer roam), and historical landmarks (monuments galore).

Starting 2 miles west of city center and bisected by Chesterfield Avenue, arrowhead-shaped Phoenix Park is Dublin's 3-mile-long green escape. Within, you'll run past the Pope's Cross (where John Paul II addressed a million Irish citizens in 1979); the towering tribute to the Duke of Wellington (Dublin native and 1815 Battle of Waterloo victor); one of the world's oldest (1830) and best zoos; and 17th-century Ashtown Castle, which is now the park visitor center (where you can score a map). And the best news for runners: You can easily run 10 miles here with almost no backtracking.

"The west side of the park, including the Furry Glen – with its serene walkways and lots of greenery and wildlife around a lake – is the most attractive area for running," says Lindie Naughton, long-time Dublin runner and Evening Herald sports journalist. "And in the vast open spaces of the Fifteen Acres, near the park's midpoint, you'll likely run among the park's large herd of deer."

City-center running (south of the Liffey) falls short of the Phoenix Park standard. Hotels here are pricier, too. And if you're interested in running on Dublin's streets, I have one word for you: Don't. They're congested, frustrating, and perilous. But with careful planning, it's possible to book an affordable hotel room with access to decent running in Dublin's urban core.

Your easiest running option here is to loop around the 3/4-mile perimeter of St. Stephen's Green, then hit its lovely pathways for a pleasant half-hour lope. The park contains 10 statues, including those of James Joyce and Irish patriot Wolfe Tone. See if you can find them all.

For a 45-minute, figure-eight foot tour, run a few hundred yards northwest (via Merrion Street – taking the sidewalk, of course) and circle Merrion Square. This small green space is edged with the finest examples of Dublin's residential Georgian architecture – town houses you see in many Dublin travel posters (including No. 82, the one-time residence of poet William Butler Yeats).

To stretch out your St. Stephen's-based workout to an hour or more, drop south a short distance to the Grand Canal Towpath. Here run the scenic, history-rich, 2.5-mile circuit (using both sides of the canal) between the Richmond and Mount Street bridges.

To hop directly into these downtown runs, consider a stay at Jury's Christchurch Inn, whose upper rooms look out on the stony Gothic magnificence of Christ Church Cathedral. Or try the stately, four-story Staunton's on the Green guesthouse, where all rooms feature tall windows that look out on either St. Stephen's Green or the Iveagh Garden. Rates include a full breakfast.

The area also boasts Dublin's grand hotel, The Shelbourne, an upper-crust Irish world of Waterford crystal and original art that also has a health club. A few blocks west of Trinity College, Bloom's (www.blooms.ie) – named after the character Leopold Bloom in Dubliner James Joyce's Ulysses – is the literary runner's pick. Bloom's rooms are particularly well equipped with modern furnishings and comforts.

From the southwest corner of city center extends a scenic 8-mile stretch of coast, from Dun Laoghaoire (pronounced "Dunleary") Harbour to the small towns of Dalkey, Killiney, and Bray. Here you'll find some distinctly Dublin runs:

A combination of paved paths and dirt trails with steep climbs, including a lung-buster to the "Witch's Hat" (a top-of-the-hill obelisk), lures locals to linked Dalkey and Killiney Hill parks. A 4-mile, figure-eight loop takes you around both park's summits. En route, you'll see rock climbers dangling from cliff faces. The Crusaders Running Club runs Killiney every week. "We divide into four groups," says Crusader Lindie Naughton. "Nobody gets left behind."

The Bray Clifftop Path (3.7 miles one-way along rocky Bray's Head south to Greystones) serves up bracing sea air and big views of the Wicklow Mountains, Killiney Bay, and Dalkey Island. On a clear day here, you can't see forever – but you can see across the Irish Sea to Wales.

"The first part is an easy promenade stretch beside the sea," says Richard Hadfield of the Dublin Hash House Harriers (www.dublinhhh.com). "That's a good warm-up for the strenuous work ahead.

Some 3 miles northeast of downtown near suburban Clontarf and picturesque Howth (both a town and a peninsula), lie some splendid runs popular with Gaelic runners.

About 3 miles around and as Irish-green as so much is here, St. Ann's Park is a favorite of NoDub harriers thanks to its landscaped woods, massive rose garden, and lake. Near the east side of the park, a mile-long causeway takes you over to North Bull Island where you can run for several miles on a dune-framed beach in the company of at least 40,000 shorebirds. Just be careful not to run on either of the island's golf courses.

From Howth itself, the 3.25-mile Howth Cliff Walk runs the whole perimeter of Howth Head (a.k.a. "The Nose") to the 1814 Baily Lighthouse. Along the way are vast sea views, the best panorama of Dublin anywhere, and a look at Ireland's Eye, the ruins of a 6th-century monastery perched on its own little island. It's a stiff climb to the top of Howth Cliff, but worth every quad tremor.

Maybe 15 minutes by bus from city center, the Howth area is a primo place to stay or dine: all quietude, quaintness, and salt-scented air. The Deer Park Hotel (www.deerpark-hotel.ie) sits right on the grounds of Howth Castle, while the 46-room Howth Lodge Hotel overlooks Howth Harbour with a good look at Ireland's Eye. The lodge offers a sauna, indoor pool, and health club.